National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

News about National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 27, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Admin issues record $105 million penalty against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, citing company's failure to complete 23 safety recalls covering more than 11 million vehicles; marks escalation of agency's efforts to investigate and punish automakers that have not done enough to recall and fix defective models. MORE

Jul. 25, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Admin launches recall of 1.4 million Jeep Cherokees, after revelations that researchers at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles had successfully hacked wirelessly into dashboard connectivity of a Jeep Cherokee; is first safety recall issued for a hacking threat. MORE

Jul. 15, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Admin is investigating airbag inflaters made by ARC Automotive, firm which uses same explosive compound as faulty inflaters made by Takata. MORE

Jun. 29, 2015

Fiat Chrysler warns owners of about five dozen 2015 sport utility vehicles to stop driving them immediately, issuing recall; cite serious issue with suspension component; announcement is made even as National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is set to hold hearing on company's failure to promptly fix safety defects in roughly 20 separate recalls. MORE

Jun. 27, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Admin, under new administrator Mark R Rosekind, appears to be responding more quickly to consumer complaints about potential automobile defects. MORE

Jun. 24, 2015

Japanese auto supplier Takata, in fourth appearance before Congress, faces strong skepticism and criticism regarding its recall and replacement of faulty airbags in some 34 million vehicles; hearing is punctuated by announcement that Fiat Chrysler will no longer use Takata airbags in replacements, citing concerns about propellant; lawmakers also reserve criticism for National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. MORE

Jun. 20, 2015

Transportation Dept unveils long-awaited audit of the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin, revealing chronic failure to root out problems and hold carmakers accountable as dangerous defects emerged in millions of vehicles; bleak account cites weak management, undertrained staff and shoddy review protocols that led to extensive lapses; includes agency's repeated failure to identify ignition switch problem that led to at least 114 deaths. MORE

Jun. 19, 2015

Wheels column; sweeping report commissioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin finds that auto industry may in fact be on track to reach mandated corporate fuel efficiency average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 with less difficulty than expected; cites shift to higher-tech, smaller-cylinder engines as well as the use of lighter materials. MORE

May. 25, 2015

Fiat Chrysler faces public backlash after it refuses to repair some of 1.6 million recalled Jeep models because they are too rusty; refusal has also raised questions among regulators, including National Highway Traffic Safety Admin, which is preparing to examine company's overall recall practices at July hearing. MORE

May. 20, 2015

Japanese auto supplier Takata agrees to sweeping recall after months of defying National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; officials say recall could affect estimated 34 million vehicles across country and take years to complete. MORE

May. 19, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it will hold hearing to probe 20 recalls issued by Fiat Chrysler covering more than 10 million vehicles, after receiving reports of series of problems. MORE

Apr. 27, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating reopening of its inquiry into safety of some 2.7 million older Jeep sport utility vehicles, made by Chrysler; earlier investigation found Jeeps were prone to explode when hit in rear, where gas tanks were located; Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which now owns Chrysler, recalled some affected models in 2009 but $150 million March verdict against automaker has reopened safety concerns and could spur more litigation. MORE

Apr. 11, 2015

General Motors handling of consumer complaints about faulty steering in some of its cars offers insight into how company, along with National Highway Traffic Safety Admin, determines whether an automobile defect warrants recall; both company and regulators say steering issue is not worthy of recall. MORE

Apr. 2, 2015

Trucking industry is seeking language in bill renewing federal Highway Trust Fund that would allow bigger and heavier trucks, proposal opposed by railroad industry, with both sides claiming safety issues in support of their argument; railroad industry stands to lose $6 billion annually if heavier trucks are permitted on nation's highways. MORE

Mar. 21, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says Graco Children's Products has agreed to pay $10 million settlement over claims that it failed to promptly recall around four million defective child car seats. MORE

Feb. 21, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Admin writes letter to Takata announcing that it will fine company $14,000 per day for not cooperating fully with investigation into defective airbags. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says auto industry recalled record number of almost 64 million vehicles for safety problems in 2014; amount exceeded total for previous three years combined. MORE

Feb. 6, 2015

Obama administration proposes in its budget to nearly triple funding for defect investigations at National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and increase agency's total budget 20 percent annually over six years. MORE

Jan. 21, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Admin announces plans to revisit Ford's 2013 recall of pickup trucks due to stalling problem; decision raises possibility that Ford could be forced to recall as many as 197,000 additional trucks, significantly expanding action that originally was limited to some 3,000 specialty vehicles used as ambulances; move follows new administrator Mark R Rosekind's pledge to increase agency's safety oversight. MORE

Jan. 13, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator Mark Rosekind tells automakers at Detroit auto show to be more vigorous in recalling defective vehicles; says new safety technology should be available in all car models. MORE

Jan. 10, 2015

Honda is distancing itself from its American subsidiary in wake of record $70 million fine levied by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for underreporting of serious accidents involving its cars in the United States; treating problem as American one is possible in part because American subsidiary is so large as to seem almost semiautonomous; fine could strengthen suspicion in Japan that US regulators are more harsh with Japanese companies than with their US rivals. MORE

Jan. 9, 2015

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration imposes fine of $70 million on Honda Motor for failing to report hundreds of death and injury claims since 2004, as well as not reporting certain warranty and other claims; both types of reports, with penalty of $35 million each, are seen as vital for helping government identify possible safety defects. MORE

Dec. 17, 2014

Senate confirms Mark R Rosekind as National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief administrator one year after resignation of David L Strickland; Rosekind is a specialist on human fatigue. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

Mark R Rosekind, Pres Obama's choice to lead National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, tells Senate committee that agency faces so many consumer complaints that it has trouble keeping up; agency has been long criticized for failing to spot defects in cars. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

Japanese auto supplier Takata takes no action in response to demand by National Highway Traffic Safety Admin for expansion of recall of defective airbags; company releases statement saying it feels public safety is best served if it continues focusing recall in regions of high humidity; NHTSA had threatened further legal action and potential penalties if recall is not expanded. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

Nov. 27, 2014

National Highway Traffic Safety Admin issues ultimatum to Japanese automotive supplier Takata as part of continuing standoff over the recall of defective airbags; gives company less than a week to expand recall nationwide or face further legal action and civil penalties. MORE

Nov. 21, 2014

National Highway Traffic Safety Admin calls on Chrysler to take 'significantly more aggressive steps' to repair recalled Jeeps that are prone to deadly fires in rear-impact crashes. MORE

Nov. 20, 2014

Pres Obama moves to fill longstanding vacancy at National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by nominating Mark R Rosekind for administrator; nomination comes day before deputy administrator David J Friedman is to testify before Senate committee about NHTSA's role in an expanding series of recalls of cars with exploding Takata airbags. MORE

Nov. 19, 2014

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, facing growing criticism, calls on automakers to conduct nationwide recall of vehicles that contain driver's-side airbags made by Takata Corporation; move would expand recall that had been mostly limited to two states and two territories with high humidity. MORE

Oct. 31, 2014

National Highway Traffic Safety Admin orders airbag supplier Takata to turn over documents and answer under oath questions related to defective airbag inflaters; order demands company turn over records regarding production, testing and subsequent concerns raised internally by automakers over the airbags; comes nearly five years after agency dropped inquiry into same issue. MORE

Oct. 29, 2014

Op-Ed article by Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, and Ralph Nader, contends that plethora of automobile recalls means National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is not doing its job; maintains that only complete overhaul of agency's culture, which favors industry over the public, will prevent future recalls. MORE

Oct. 25, 2014

Obama administration is undertaking comprehensive review of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration due to concerns about safety lapses; inquiry comes during record year for recalls, in which agency's role in analyzing crash data and policing vehicle defects has been scrutinized by Congress. MORE

Oct. 22, 2014

Consumers get few answers day after federal safety regulators warned owners of recalled vehicles with defective air bags made by Takata Corp to get them replaced because they could explode; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration site that allows drivers to look up a car by vehicle identification number was not responding, and calls were put on hold. MORE

Oct. 7, 2014

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether recall is needed on 938,000 recent Ford Fusion, Lincoln MKZ and Mercury Milan sedans; agency received 508 complaints on power steering failures; Ford has already recalled 1.1 million vehicles in 2014. MORE

Sep. 18, 2014

Editorial contends General Motors recall debacle has made it clear that Congress badly needs to strengthen the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, agency responsible for investigating auto defects; holds while GM bears primary responsibility for related deaths, agency is also culpable for failing to dig deeper; says stingy Congress is also to blame, and urges government to give agency resources it needs to ensure safety. MORE

Sep. 16, 2014

House committee investigating National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds that federal regulators had ample information to identify the deadly ignition defect in General Motors cars as early as 2007. MORE

Sep. 15, 2014

Investigation by New York Times into National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's handling of major safety defects over past decade finds that it frequently has been slow to identify problems, tentative to act and reluctant to employ its full legal powers; agency did not take leading role in many of major vehicle safety issues in recent years until well after problems had reached crisis level. MORE

Sep. 11, 2014

Senate hearing examining National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, agency that oversees car safety, will feature testimony from government officials, safety advocates and representative from automobile industry; hearing will examine agency's implementation and handling of vehicle safety laws and General Motors crisis. MORE

Aug. 21, 2014

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website, as well as sites of individual automakers, now features online search tool that allows consumers to check whether recall repairs have been completed on specific car, truck or motorcycle. MORE

Aug. 8, 2014

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fines Hyundai nearly $17.4 million because it did not promptly report to public a safety defect that affected braking in its cars. MORE

Jul. 26, 2014

Federal auto safety regulators, in their continuing scrutiny of air bags, are opening inquiry into failure of devices in General Motors' 2008 Chevrolet Impala sedan; inquiry stems from complaint filed with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about 2011 crash. MORE

Jul. 16, 2014

Documents obtained from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration cast doubt on how forthright General Motors was with regulators over a defective ignition switch that automaker has linked to at least 13 deaths over the last decade; documents provide details on issue at heart of a criminal investigation by Justice Department on whether GM, in its interaction with safety regulators, obscured a deadly defect. MORE

Jul. 2, 2014

Graco Children's Products, under pressure from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, agrees to recall 1.9 million rear-facing infant seats with faulty buckle that can make it difficult to free child during emergency. MORE

Jun. 21, 2014

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it is reviewing reports that exhaust gases, including dangerous carbon monoxide, could enter passenger compartment of some Ford Explorers; potential safety problem has prompted customer complaints and recent lawsuit. MORE